Mock draft Wednesday’s: 16th January

January 16th, 2013 | Written by Rob Staton

Time for this weeks mock. And before we start, read this. It’ll explain why Manti Te’o isn’t included. If you’ve missed the news, it’s probably the weirdest story you’ll ever read about a Heisman finalist. Or any football player. Ever.

We now know the Seahawks will pick 25th overall. We also know Pete Carroll wants to improve the pass rush. Interestingly, John Schneider appeared on ESPN 710 this morning and chipped in with some thoughts of his own. We’ll go into this in more detail tomorrow, but here are the highlights:

– Schneider mentioned it was a superior group of receivers compared to last years draft
– He talked up the offensive line talent at the top of the first round
– He also mentioned that there were some ‘unique’ defensive lineman available
– Schneider says he finds the crop of junior linebackers ‘impressive’

Like I said, we’ll go into this more tomorrow. I did find the receiver comment interesting given the team avoided the position last year. Depending on how the board shapes up, I think we’ll see a pass catcher taken within the first 2-3 rounds.

He’s absolutely right to talk up the offensive line talent. Luke Joeckel, Eric Fisher, Chance Warmack and Jonathan Cooper could all be top-15 picks. It could’ve been an even better class had the likes of Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan declared.

The word ‘unique’ intrigues me when he refers to the pass rushers. The Seahawks have drafted ‘unique’ players before. Could he be referring to guys like Margus Hunt, Ezekiel Ansah and Dion Jordan who are a little unorthodox?

As for the junior linebackers — there’s only four (unless he counts pass rushing OLB’s). Alec Ogletree, Kevin Minter, Jelani Jenkins and Tom Wort were the only four pure linebackers to turn pro. You have to believe this team would love a shot at Ogletree.

For this weeks mock I have to go with a defensive lineman. Was there any choice after everything that’s been said over the last few days? I considered John Simon (DE, Ohio State), Alex Okafor (DE, Texas) and Sharrif Floyd (DT, Florida). Then I remembered what we’re dealing with here. John Schneider says there are ‘unique’ pass rushers available. This is a team that consistently thinks outside of the box. And I thought, why not?

Why not just put Margus Hunt with the Seahawks this week?

He’s unorthodox. He’s 6-8, 275lbs and he throws a discus. He’s Estonian. He’s also unlike any player I’ve watched before. His speed, height and weight combination is unnatural and unmatched. He’s one of the biggest physical freaks you’ll find anywhere in the world. And for all of those reasons, he’s possibly one of the most Carroll-y, Schneider-y draft picks we’ll ever find.

You can’t get anymore outside of the box than Margus Hunt. If he was 22-years-old with three years experience at a top programme he’d be a contender to go first overall. Because he’s coming to the NFL via Estonia, a cancelled SMU track and field programme and a last minute football scholarship, his stock is slightly different. Conventional wisdom tells you this is a guy who’ll be 26 in July with limited experience. The Seahawks don’t deal in conventional wisdom.

If Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert are willing to draft a 29-year-old rookie quarterback in the late first round, why wouldn’t a team crying out for a pass rusher consider this guy in a similar range? Carroll and Schneider drafted Bruce Irvin a year ago and he turned 25 during his rookie season. That’s a whole one years difference.

He’s got the upper body strength, the ideal frame, the speed off the edge, the ability to beat a blocker with good hands. He struggles with leverage which is no surprise at 6-8. That’s something you have to live with. For a team that wants to be bigger, faster and stronger than anybody else – he fits the bill. And he’ll get to the quarterback.

Really the age thing isn’t so much a concern if he can have an impact quickly. That’s going to be the defining judgement here. For a team with Super Bowl ambitions (this team has come a long way) it doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s about finding a way to go that little bit further. Winning a Championship. He’s not going to be a ten-year starter. He’ll probably max out with a 6-year career. That’s still six potential Super Bowl runs where you have a legitimate, freak of nature pass rusher.

There are more orthodox players available, but that doesn’t seem to be how this team thinks. Where would he line up? He could start at defensive end if Chris Clemons goes on the PUP list. He can line up opposite Clemons in some balanced four-man fronts. He could line up inside like Jason Jones.

Coincide a pick like this with a free agent acquisition (Randy Starks, Henry Melton, Desmond Bryant) and suddenly this situation looks a little brighter. Margus Hunt might be part of the answer to Seattle’s problems with the pass rush. I’ve included his game tape against Fresno State at the top of this piece.

In terms of the mock draft on the whole, I’ve tried to mix things up a bit this week. I wanted to do a projection that represented two things:

1. The Kansas City Chiefs not taking a quarterback with the #1 pick

2. No early rush on quarterbacks

The position is so important that I expect the best of the group to go early. However, there are a lot of contradicting views here. And what if those views are right? There are so many noises coming out of the league that there won’t be an early rush on the position. I guess anything could happen this year. This is the first draft I’ve covered without a really obvious prospect who’s going to go first overall. It’s a unique. And I don’t want to do the same mock every week.

First round

#1 Luke Joeckel (T, Texas A&M)
This would be something of a sideways step, replacing Branden Albert. But it’s a possibility if they don’t like the QB’s enough.

#2 Bjoern Werner (DE, Florida State)
The Jaguars need a pass rusher and Werner could be the choice after a 13.5-sack season.

#3 Star Lotulelei (DT, Utah)
Both of Oakland’s starting defensive tackles are free agents. They had the second worst pass rush in the NFL behind Jacksonville.

166 Responses to “Mock draft Wednesday’s: 16th January”

Thank you for this great analysis. I have heard the Seahawks have 10 draft picks plus potential compensatory selections. Could you please run down the picks they currently have and what compensatory selection(s) you would expect?

Thank you. Next season we will clinch home field advantage and bring home the Lombardi Trophy!

Hi Jim – as far as I’m aware they have the full compliment of seven picks… (rounds 1-7) plus a 6th or 7th rounder from Buffalo in the Tarvaris Jackson trade and a 7th rounder from New Orleans in the Barrett Ruud trade.

NOTE – thanks to those who highlighted the other choice is an unspecified pick (5th?) from Oakland as part of the Aaron Curry trade.

We don’t have our 7th rounder as I have heard, because we gave it to Tampa Bay for Kellen Winslow.
I still am not sure where the 10th pick is…unless somehow because he didn’t play we didn’t lose the pick?

The Margus guy is a behemoth, lol. I could definitely see him being a force on the seahawks line, especially if we pick up Sparks off Miami. Justin Hunter falling that far is wishful thinking but if we can move up in the second round to get Da’Rick Rodgers or Markus Wheaton I say pick up Margus. No matter what happens though we need Melton or Sparks.

I see a cluster of WR’s going in round two. Hunter could go earlier, but then others would drop. A bit like last year with all the linebackers available, Seattle could just choose from Wagner, Kendricks, David, Brown. They took Wagner obviously. Next year there’s probably going to be 3-4 WR’s they could choose from. So if it’s not Hunter, it could’ve been Wheaton, Williams, Allen or Austin. Or even Gavin Escobar.

I’m not so sure he would be in our system. He needs a package of plays. I think he’d actually be best off with Chip Kelly or even Andy Reid. Seattle doesn’t really utilise a player with his skill set – they force a lot of jump balls, don’t do many screens or bubbles.

That’s true now…but with RW emerging I think PC/JS will adjust their vision of their offense. They know they have an elite mind at QB that can use many weapons. I still think he would be dynamic. I so hope we trade up in round two, using some of our extra picks, to get the best weapon available!

I agree — I’m even thinking it would be interesting if we could insert Austin in the lineup (a couple of plays each game) as a read-option QB. His quickness is unparalleled as is his versatility. (I don’t mean to imply that this would be his main role. I’m just thinking of ways that we could get the ball into his hands where he has a chance to use his elusiveness. Sweeps and reverses are another option.)

PC in his season-ending press conference talked about some other plays that we haven’t seen that are a part of the read-option. I wonder if some of them include a pitch option where RW can (1) keep the ball, (2) hand it off to the RB, or (3) pitch it to a trailer (either another RB or a WR). In other words, turning the read-option into a kind of triple-option offense like Navy and other teams run. I could see Austin playing into this big time.

I could see that especially. Let’s use a version of the pistol like RG3, but with Lynch and Austin in the backfield?!?!? Lightning and the beast!! Austin is faster than RG3! Then if we had a burner WR, with all that attention up front, BOOM! RW deep for 6! over & over

Seattle needs to work on the pass rush, but then why take a guy who has athleticism with few skills? I think that if they’re going to upgrade at the 5-tech it’ll be with a better version of Red, namely Floyd.

I don’t see this as an upgrade at the five technique personally. I see this as a guy who can play in multiple positions. I’m not confident Clemons will start the year, so for me if you draft Hunt you play him at DE. If/when Clemons is back, he can line up as an orthodox LE if they choose to use some basic four man fronts (they should do for certain situations). And at other times he can play in the Jason Jones role.

And I don’t disagree that free agency might provide the pass rush. But then it’s January 17th and this week has been about the pass rush. And I can’t do the same mock every week.

Most players take at least a year to come back to full speed after an ACL. Adrian Peterson was a fluke. Carpenter came back too soon. If the Redskins push RGIII too soon, with a double ACL knee, it could destroy his career. We have to assume Clemons is lost for next year. Irvin is not the right guy to play Leo full time. I see Bruce as solely a pass rush specialist…would like to see them move him around like a LB and attack from anywhere. The Seahawks must FA sign or draft a starting Leo.

I don’t think we can just assume Irvin isn’t the guy for the Leo (although I too am suspecting it). A bit early for that. He did lead rookies in sacks, and we all were fully aware he was a project player.

With Clemons injury though, it would make sense to take another guy with Leo potential and depending on how Irvin vs. the New Guy turns out, one of ‘em plays Leo and the other plays the “Irvin” role from last year. We may have to face the reality that Clem is just done for good at his age.

Thing is Carroll hand-picked Irvin to be the future at Leo. It amazes me that people still continually criticize his decisions after the enormous turn-around he’s guided this team too. I remember people shaking their heads at the Darrell Tapp for Clemons trade even though they got a 5th round pick with.

Just never been impressed when I’ve zoned in on his play. Think he might be a liability against speed at the next level. He needs the right scheme. He’d probably work in Seattle, but other places? Not so sure.

Don’t know if I like Hunter to Seattle. He seems similar to the receivers that came out last year, and Schneider has said that he wasn’t wild about the group last year and likes that there is more of a variety this year. To me Hunter is similar to the Blackmon and Floyd type, and the big difference with the 2013 crop is the speed guys.

I completely agree with you Zach, Hopkins has gone from a huge performance against LSU and straight to my heart. I would be more than happy if they went with him in round 1 and traded up (with the plethora of draft picks as ammo) in round 2 to nab Margus Hunt

Also agree, although I like Patterson’s upside and would be alright if he was the pick. This team needs a legit #2 that can back up Rice if need be. Most of these other guys seem too small or too slow.

I’d disagree here. After all, there was no chance of Seattle getting Blackmon so I’m not sure Schneider was referring to him last year. Secondly, Floyd was a big bodied type, sloppy routes, surprisingly fast for his size though. Hunter is much leaner, more sudden, better in his routes. Very different players.

Hunter seems like the most vanilla WR of this group. I’ve watched a few of his games now and his ability just seems NFL average. Nothing against him, just seems like with so many intriguing WRs this year, I’d be surprised if Hunter went as high as many of the projections have him. And like you say, he doesn’t seem to have that quickness factor that Green Bay / JS have shown a preference for.

It could drop him, but he’d have to play defensive end in Seattle. I doubt he’d be an option for Seattle given it was Carroll’s USC programme that essentially told him to retire after they discovered the issue.

Been reading the Seahawks draft blog for a few years and just love the insight and analysis of the players you guys highlight. It’s nice to be educated leading up to the NFL drafts over the years and makes leading up to the NFL draft more enjoyable to watch. The information you both provide on various player profiles the Seahawks could be targeting makes the dialogue fun and insightful. The information this website provides allows the casual and the passionate Seahawk fan a deeper look as to the reasons why the team can choose these players and a methodology as to why the Seahawk may draft them. The Seahawk front office does throw the casual fan off a tonne with their last couple of first round picks during draft day but what I find is that leading up to the draft your responses as well as those who follow and respond make this website unique, personal, and sophisticated. I love reading the fans perspectives and see the passion they show for the love of the Seahawks and my hope is that your website continues for years to come.

Just wanted to ask you how does one draft and determine the intangibles of work ethic combined with good talent versus elite talent and good to marginal work ethic? After watching Wilson’s work ethic pay off with his skill set, I am just sold in getting as many of those kind of football players as possible because it sets them apart for greatness.

It seems like DeAndre Hopkins based on your research is one of those guys who will put in the time to work on his craft and desires to be great.

How do you evaluate a prospect who has that hunger and drive with good talent versus the superstar player with higher ceiling but with good work ethic? Which would you choose? The ideal would to have both but picking at 25 you don’t get those luxuries.

I am sold on Hopkins and hope that the Seahawks draft him mainly because that intangible sets him apart versus a player of need.

Great job guys keep up the great work. Would love to hear your thoughts.

I think you just have to make a calculated judgement. A guy like Dez Bryant is a great example. Amazing talent, spotty character. At what point do you say… ‘he’s good enough to take the risk?’ It really depends on the talent level. Plus you also don’t want to pay too much attention to an average player with a low ceiling just because he works hard. It’s a difficult balancing act. Hopkins combines the talent and work ethic perfectly. He’s not a dominating physical player but he’s extremely skilled.

On one hand, drafts can be hit and miss. The more guys you draft, the more chance of hitting on some of those pics. Because of JS/PC scoring on some later round guys it leads me to want to lean towards not bundling. Then just have the guys duke it out for starting jobs.

On the other hand, If there is a specific guy we feel confident about and want to go and get I can see a bundling of picks to go get that guy.

It really is a great position to be in because they can go either way and I imagine what they do comes down to how the internal evaluations of the different players come out.

Using a few picks to trade up in the second seems the likeliest 2 me. Lots of value there, and wouldn’t cost the farm… we need offensive weapons for RW… we have 2 – 5.6.7 round picks. If we trade ‘our’ 5.6.7 picks at the 25th spot, we get a great value…IMO

“The more guys you draft, the more chance of hitting on some of those picks.” I would add that this was particularly true in the past where the Seahawks had a lot of marginal players where it was tough not to pick someone who was either better or cheaper than the incumbent.

But things have changed. We’ve got a really good group of players now, so what used to be a “hit” will now be a player who may not even make the team. So, does this mean that bundling some picks to trade for a higher pick makes more sense now? I think it does.

I think your reasoning is spot on, yet it’s hard to ignore the value we’ve got from out late round picks..they haven’t just replaced poor incumbents. Many of them would replace quality starters across the league. Heck, even one of our 7th rounders is looking to start over a previous 3rd round pick. I dont need to mention two of our 5th round picks. It’s hard to ignore those results.

This will be blunt and probably shut down a few people out of defensiveness, but we might getting carried away with the whole idea that the Seahawks categorically reject conventional picks and look awesome doing it.

They’ve got a lot of weird picks in the upper three rounds, but they also drafted a perfectly ordinarily good LT in Russell Okung, a perfectly ordinarily good FS in Earl Thomas, and a perfectly ordinarily good LB in Bobby Wagner. They acquired a perfectly ordinarily awesome running back in Marshawn Lynch. Our shutdown cornerback isn’t good because he’s tall, he’s good because he’s got a ton of traits and skills that other good cornerbacks around the league share (press coverage isn’t that big a revelation in the NFL). Max Unger, Michael Robinson, Sidney Rice – standouts in perfectly ordinary ways.

And our successful 2012, of course, is down largely to a quarterback whose selection was not a matter of being enhanced by “unique traits”. The Russell Wilson pick was a matter of ignoring a potential drawback that covered up a lot of other perfectly ordinary advantages, most of which (work ethic, accuracy, mechanics, footwork, mental presence) are found in other elite quarterbacks. His success has nothing to do with a unique trait, and in fact that trait may still be holding him back. And he wasn’t reached for, even in the second round.

It’s also worth mentioning that PC’s “outside the box” thinking has led to a lot of incomplete players, in some cases directly contributing to the very personnel problems that are generating these mock drafts. Red Bryant was outside-the-box, and now he’s hamstringing our pass rush. Golden Tate jogging too many lazy routes and forcing Wilson to scramble a little often. Brandon Browner giving up one too many downfield plays on double moves and comebacks. Long-armed KJ Wright struggling. Counterintuitive top picks Bruce Irvin and James Carpenter show that PC dislikes the box, yes, but they aren’t (yet) entrenched in the category of “we’re strongly helping the Seahawks like a first-rounder should” either. I personally am looking forward to a nice, solid, ordinary Pro Bowler from this year’s first round.

In a lot of cases, this team is still exceeding largely through plain, good old-fashioned football excellence. I look at the team and I see only a limited body of work that really speaks well of the “defying conventional wisdom” strategy, certainly not enough to seriously consider this team picking a 26-year-old Estonian discus thrower in the first round to solve its biggest problem. I think we still have permission to look at classic builds and ordinary varieties of excellence. “Well, they picked Bruce Irvin and Golden Tate” is neither a concrete endorsement of outside-the-box thinking nor a reason to predict Seattle reaching for a player.

Do you think KJ Wright, Tate, Or Irvin are poor players? I dont. There are alot of busts and I dont think any of those fit that category. Its a bit of a critical take on a team that did a complete roster turn around over a three year period and lead the league in DVOA this year (with a rookie QB on offense and defense(Wagner))and top scoring defense.

I do agree that unconventional isnt necessarily better. I think what it comes to is that Pete and JS like getting GREAT value for their picks. So the will get a guy who doesnt fit the “prototype” or is unusual in some way but who can still fit their scheme and do so at a better value than another player who has strengths in areas that are not as important to them.

Its not about unconventional, its about value. Maybe if Hunt had more experience by a 3 years, wasnt a discus thrower, grew up around football, etc… maybe he would be more refined and more productive and be a top 5 pick. Maybe Pete will see a beast who has a massive ceiling for production that he can get because hes unusual. Maybe not.

I think Wright, Tate, and Irvin are bit pieces that aren’t going to push the team over the hump and are liabilities just a little too often. Now, obviously every team has those guys. It’s not that everyone has to be a Pro Bowler. But when your team has zero reliable pass rush, you don’t want to get cute and be all about value or DVOA. You want to win Super Bowls, and fix the glaring problem was that directly attributable to not making the Super Bowl.

I really dont get this because PC/JS built a near superbowl contending team in lightspeed using their less conventional approach over 3 years. The seahawks are now in a position where they need to take another stab at getting better pass rush. They may go more conventional or less in acquiring the players necessary to make the step. Ill trust them to pick out the guys who fit their system and to get the most out of their pics by sometimes being unconventional and othertimes lesser so.

pass rush, nickle corner, olb possibly, a few TE/WR, and OLine depth. If they can acquire that over the offseason and with the likely team improvement with the peices we already have we could be superbowl favorites.

I think it’s too harsh to call Tate a bust. I wanted more from him last year. He has done well this year. Irvin would be labeled a success if 4th round, as a first he is a bust. I agree with you that we shouldn’t be thinking outside the box in the first few rounds. If they haven’t proven them selves yet then wait for a later round.

I think you’re going too far the other way, Brandon. Nobody would argue every player the team has chosen has gone against conventional wisdom. I want to look at different scenarios with these mocks and I’m not arguing they definitely will take Margus Hunt (who is more than just an Estonian discuss player, he’s also a fine pass rusher with incredible potential). But they have shown a tendency to go against the grain, whether it’s going with big corners at a time when the league was searching for speed, starting a third round, 5-11 rookie quarterback, drafting Bruce Irvin with the #15 pick, going run-centric at a time when the league was very much ‘air-raid’, taking Carpenter in R1 was unexpected by most if not us on this blog, the Bryant experiment etc etc.

Previously I’ve mocked guys like Arthur Brown, Zach Ertz and DeAndre Hopkins to the Seahawks. This week it’s Margus Hunt. I wouldn’t call that getting ‘carried away’ looking at going against conventional wisdom. I’m not going to do the same mock draft every week.

I think Seattle’s strategy just isn’t being communciated well. They’re not looking for unique guys necessarily, but they’re looking for guy that are uniquely talented. Speed and physicality are perfectly ordinary traits but the speed that ET and Wagner have, and the physicality that Marshawn brings, is anything but ordinary.

I think your paragraph about Russell is the exact argument to make for Hunt.

“The Russell Wilson pick was a matter of ignoring a potential drawback that covered up a lot of other perfectly ordinary advantages, most of which (work ethic, accuracy, mechanics, footwork, mental presence) are found in other elite quarterbacks. His success has nothing to do with a unique trait, and in fact that trait may still be holding him back. And he wasn’t reached for, even in the second round.”

Hunt’s potential drawback, being a 26 year old Estonian discus thrower, is covering up his advantages. The guy is long, strong, fast, violent, and versatile. If we can look past the fact that he’s 5’10 5/8, I mean Estonian, he looks like a really good player.

The guy’s speed around the edge looks scary, and I was impressed at the way that he was able to get his pad level low and split the double team on a couple of plays. I think that bodes well for his development at the next level. I’d want to see more tape, and he seems a bit hesitant moving in space. I like what I see so far, though.

Rob don’t you think that with the success of the rookie QBs that can can run and throw Geno Smith stands to shine at the combine and move himself up into the first round? I personally think he could go first overall to the Chiefs. It just seems that every year as the draft nears the QBs start climbing towards the top. Especially when you consider that the main reason you are picking in the top 10 is the lack of a good QB.

He could go first overall, 7th overall, 8th overall, mid/late first. So many possibilities. He’s not a fantastic physical player so I’m not convinced the combine will help him too much. His stock is really hard to gauge. There are legit concerns in that offense similar to the other guys who’ve worked in it (ultra spread). I wanted to mix things up this week.

I am really not sure why Margus Hunt is being looked at as a better candidate than Ansah, both have very similar backstories only Hunt is slightly taller and far more risky. Ansah came from Ghana, to play basketball at BYU. Then switched to play football he was a soccer player while in Ghana and quite good at hinting at speed and agility. And very light at the time. He put almost 30 pounds to play defensive end in BYUs weird 3-3-5 scheme even though he was unsuited and learned the game of football to be a very productive member of the team. After having zero knowledge of the game. And this is just after limited work in a defense he does not really fit in talent wise, since he was playing a ton of snaps at nose tackle. He is an vaunted for his intelligence and his quick ability to learn. Is Hunt even worth a gamble in comparison? Granted he is a project but he seems like a better project then Hunt or Jordan. You can read more about his story here http://www.ksl.com/?nid=272&sid=20515470. You can also watch every BYU football game at http://byutv.org/watch/becd4f1e-93d1-4995-aab1-d90518fd60cf/football-san-diego-state-vs-byu-122012

A lot of fills and very good players coming in the later rounds. I couldn’t add the tenth pick from Buffalo due to the simulator only allowing editing to the 6th round. I like the Williams, Uzzi, Anthony, and Foketi being simulated to the team and there were many players not even added into the simulator yet. So this is a quick run and it looked decent. Sadly, this will not happen….no way does Uzzi fall that low, but if you take the names away and just look at the positions being taken in the draft order, you will be a little happier as it addresses the key needs.

As for Seattle’s picks from yourself, Rob, I love the Margus Hunt selection. He is a man playing with boys and hopefully he brings his Mjolnir hammer with him because he looks like Thor. He looks to be the complete package of a player that Seattle definitely would benefit from because they don’t have the complete package player at the DE position. Justin Hunter, it could work, but it can easily be any WR in the draft going in this selection.

Also, what are the chances Seattle signs a CB like Derek Cox away from Jacksonville?

Hunt definitely jumps out on tape (not just against Fresno St.’s horrible line, but against a very good Texas A&M line of a year ago). Even though it’s not against top talent, the fact that he can dominate at times and has only played for 4 years says something. I would suspect they’d want him to add at least 15-20 pounds. I could see him being used in a similar fashion as Jason Jones as well and he seems to have a knack for knifing between guards. Also good at blocking kicks – he could team up with Red on that… Could be very dangerous coming off stunts. If he learns how to use good leverage and bulk up, I could see him being a dangerous pass rusher. 8 sacks and 11.5 TFL isn’t bad, but not great for lower level competition. Looks like he rotated a lot between end and tackle, good versatility – something the Seahawks value. I wouldn’t be upset with this pick, though I do wonder how immediately he can contribute, especially because of his age.

The lack of getting arms up kind of matches some of his other shortcomings. You see him run right by RBs running draws, or completely lost when a RB cuts back into his area if he’s working on a blocker.

I think he doesn’t have a good feel or peripheral vision to see the play unfolding when he’s engaged. He is entirely too focused on the man in front of him. That lack of ability to see what is going on with the play would manifest itself exactly in that manner. He doesn’t get his arms up because he really doesn’t see the QB, and likely doesn’t read his eyes to guess which passing window he’s going to throw through.

I’m not sure that’s easily correctable. Obviously he is new to the game. So I wouldn’t expect him to be good at these kinds of nuanced skill.

I do see it as a red flag. And I’ll compare Hunt with another foreign prospect who is also relatively new to football (8 years): Jesse Williams. The polish between the two couldn’t be more striking. Williams as a JUCO prospect was pretty terrible at leverage and generally just as lost as Hunt at some of the finer skills of being a DT.

In two years, he’s transformed into probably the best DT in terms of maintaining leverage that I can recall seeing in the last 4 years. He virtually never loses the pad level battle. He is also very likely to destroy the combine record for lifting. His warm up weight is very close to the 2012 combine best set by Poe last year. His strength and leverage are elite for the NFL if not the very best the moment he walks onto the field for his rookie minicamp. He also gets his arms up on almost every pass attempt where he doesn’t have a chance to make a play on the QB. He does a ton of the little things that Hunt doesn’t do.

Hunt does have one really awesome trait though. He is just outstanding at working through a crease in the line. He doesn’t necessarily use a lot of recognizable technique. But you can definitely see when he attacks a gap, that opposing OGs just can’t really seem to get a good handle on him. He just instinctively knows how to shift his body, and the strength to get an angle advantage and not only not lose that advantage, but work completely free and through.

It reminds me of when people would compare the other SMU great Eric Dickerson to his peers. He was frequently seen as a lazy runner. I can’t remember who to attribute the quote to, but someone gushed that ‘when he ran, he was so smooth his pads didn’t make any noise’. Everything seemed effortless to him. Guys just seemed to not be able to keep up with him.

I see the same thing here when Margus plays the inside. Linemen just have a hard time getting ahold of him if he’s not playing over a man. He doesn’t look like he does anything special — it just looks very natural — effortless.

My impression is that physical skills and measureables are natural or developed through training. Each athlete has a Peak based on the natural capacity for speed strength agility etc.

Why do we talk about guys like Irvin and say hes hit his physical peak when hes still so raw despite his age? Hes going into his first off season with a year of NFL evaluation to build the body he needs to be successful in his role as a seahawk. Regardless of his age I think we can expect him to comeback improved.

Impression on learned skills aka technique and football IQ is that it is something that will always develop but develops on a slope. The slope starts out really fast and then slows down but never really stops.

Why do we talk about more RAW guys who are in the beginning stages of learning the game and say that they probably wont learn to do certain things? They are still on the fast portion of the learning slope. There can be expected huge increases in that area.

They are in a rough spot. Although to be fair, if they don’t take one early, they can expect to see QBs slide through the teens and into the 20s. They could move up relatively inexpensively back into the latter first round and still get a QB. They will have some white knuckle moments when the bills and jets pick. But beyond that it could be smooth sailing for a while.

Wasnt Barkley pretty mediocre this year? He had NFL receivers competing against college talent and didnt dominate.

It would be the worst if I had a top pick and wasted it on a guy who was a marginal starting QB toss up between him and Kolb.

Then we win a few more games the next year and dont have a shot at an actual quality QB when the draft is stronger. Having to pay 2 QB’s too much and still suck and not even be in a great drafting position. Now there is victory.

Barkley was fine. No considerable step backwards. If we’re going to talk about his receivers… Max Wittek had barely a 100-yard game against a bang average Georgia Tech team. We’ll see next year how much USC misses Barkley.

Rob explained he was not including QB’s early in this mock. Like he said he wants to mix it up and give options and ideas to think about. If you want to see the exact same mock every time vist walterfootball.com. They have had the Hawks selecting WR Williams from Baylor in every mock for the past few months…

Margus Hunt is an interesting choice. Not so much because he is unconventional, but because he has some productive abilities I can see Carroll and Schneider liking. He has improving production when it comes to rushing the passer. Something that stands out is his ability to block kicks, which is something Pete would probably like on special teams. I know our defensive line trains to block passes as well. JJ Watt blocked 15 passes and had 16 passes defensed. A long player like Hunt can do a hell of a job getting in a QB’s face. Why is Margus Hunt unconventional? He has a frame that can add more muscle. He’s quick, long, and has shown production. Is it because of weak competition?

No. Of his 8 sacks this year, four have come against Texas A&M, TCU and Fresno State (ok, FSU maybe not good).

Certainly though against the best OL in the land (A&M), he still produced.

Also, I’m not sure I agree that he can add a whole lot of size. If you’re hoping he can get to 300, I’d say that’s very unlikely.

He is the NCAA record holder for blocked kicks. If he ever develops that skill when he rushes a passer, I have little doubt he can be one of the best in the NFL at that. It’s a part of that ceiling that he can reach.

In the video it didnt seem like he had the agility to get home vs the QB but he did manage to get penetration which is really the primary thing we are looking for at this point right? Someone to disrupt the QB so Clem and Irvin can take him down.

Now that we’ve hired Dan Quinn as the DC, Margus Hunt should definitely be an option. Dan Quinn is the guy that started the pass blocking drills for our defensive linemen. A long guy like Margus Hunt that can get penetration with pass blocking skills might be very handy. JJ Watt had 19.5 sacks and 16 passes defensed (basically pass blocks). Margus Hunt could be a pass rusher in that JJ Watt mold. Get through and if he can’t sack the passer, at least disrupt his passing lane.

Watching that footage above was the first time this year that I’ve watched a prospect video and laughed. Hunt is a beast and just abuses people in that game. I’m still concerned about his lack of experience and age, but there’s no denying the dude is a a physical freak. He makes Bruce Irvin look small. That closing speed he has at the QB is elite. The safety he gets at 3:04 is the perfect example. You sure don’t see linemen with that kind of burst often.

Rob, I agree, if the dude was four years younger you’re talking top 10 pick. If drafted by the hawks, I’m sure most of us would feel the same way we did about the Irvin pick. “I understand the logic, I just hope it works out”

If if really “fell” to this position (#14) I would think that’s prime trading up range for the Hawks. Trading into the top-10 is probably out of the question, but getting to the 14-16 range is realistic. I’m assuming it would take our first and second or our first and two 3rd rounders.

Rob (and others who want to chime in), I’m curious, given the choice between what you have mocked for the first two rounds to seattle vs a trade up that cost our first and second, which would you prefer?

I would go with a. personally. I really hope we keep our 2nd and 3rd’s, and use our extra 5-6-7 to move those up some to get who they value most. I prefer they get major offensive weapons thru the draft, cheaper, and they grow up with RW. I would prefer we settle DT / DE in FA with our extra cap space. Melton/Sparks, and Paul Kruger!!! He looks mean and tough!

I’m not sold it has to work that way. Why couldn’t it be a package of picks for Richardson, a move back for Hunt, and Justin Hunter in the Hawks natural spot in the 2nd? With ten picks, you could make a move like that without irreparable harm to your franchise.

Oh, it could be, but the draft pick value chart shows the easiest way to move from 25 to 14 is combining #1 and 2. That was also the cost for the Cowboys to move up a similar number of spots to get Claiborne. Trying to make up the difference in value from #25 to #14 via 4th, 5th, and 6th rounders is pretty much impossible. The value just isn’t there. Your only option is to try to combine a couple 3rd round picks with your first to make up the 400-point difference in value.

Ok, so Zack Miller has a Plantar fascia tear. I have read how brutal those are and if you look at Antonio Gates I assume others will be just as concerned as I am now. Our TE’s are now a huge concern.

Miller is a huge piece to the offense. They already need another playmaker and with Miller and his injury the team who already have been looking for another TE will have to target one, a quality starter. Do they trade up for Ertz?

After seeing multiple scouts report that Ertz is horrible at blocking, even though Rob thinks he is adequate, with our running game I see PC/JS going after a more balanced player like Eifert/Kelce/Reed… JS, when asked on the radio about the draft, mentioned the wide receiver position in this draft as being unique. I hope that means Deandre Hopkins in R1. Then get Kelce in 3… We would be well off. Then they sneak another sleeper WR/TE in the later rounds that ends up rocking’!!!

When you have a TE who leads your team in receptions, you know he’s a valuable #2 option behind Zach miller if they can get Kelce. He reminds me a little bit of a Brent Jones: soft hands, not top level speed (TE standards), but isn’t shy of contact.

Eifert is utterly worthless as a blocker. Like Rob said, he’s basically a giant, slow WR. I don’t know how he is unanimously considered a 1st rounder. He has little physicality to his game. Jordan Reed is faster and could be had later if you want a strictly receiving TE.

Ertz is actually a pretty good blocker. He’s not elite, but he gets plenty of push on running plays and shows effort.

Kelce would be the ideal “value” pick if premium blocking and some receiving ability is what is wanted.

I don’t think there is a need for Seattle to trade up to get a good TE in this draft. You’re going to see both Eifert/Ertz go off the board first, unless either/both bomb at the combine. You then have your other high end level TE in Jordan Reed out there for a team looking for a athletic player at that position. After that, there are very good TE’s still available in Escobar, Kelce, Fauria, Sims, and even the RZ weapon in Michael Williams from Alabama.

Seattle is going to get all the players they want because they are not afraid in reaching for talent they believe equates to the level of player they are getting. Though they have 10 selections, I think they will make a few trades to either move up or stockpile in future draft picks.

It’s a very interesting and thrilling time to be a Seahawks fan, especially after 3 solid drafts, that the draft is almost as fun as the season itself at times.

The big thing I would warn people about this draft is don’t get TOO sold on the Hawks taking multiple rushers unless they truely believe they can get it done. They aren’t going to waste picks on guys because it fills a need like a lot of teams do.

I’m a big fan of Margus Hunt. Strong as hell and great leverage. Not sure I like him at 25 but ask me again in a few months.

Watched several games of Alex Okafor and wasn’t too impressed. He embarassed a heavily overmatched Oregon State crew but outside of that he seemed to disappear for long stretches of time. Not a 1st round guy IMO. He’s decent against the run, doesn’t get blown off the ball but he doesn’t shed blocks real well and make a ton of plays.

Thats true. They have expressed a desire to stay away from picking based on needs as much as BPA. Also to consider is that when Pete is candid about addressing a specific team need he historically has been very aggressive about getting it done.

My guess is they will evaluate the draft first to see if filling the team needs would make them reach for players and then it would impact how they approach filling those needs in freeagency.

How does that work? When are free agents usually signed and how long is that from the combine and then draft?

I think Rob said March 13 is when the new league year begins, so free agency opens then (don’t quote me on that exact date). I’m sure they’ll be pro-active and try to make some moves as they do every year.

To be honest, I don’t think they let Free Agency dictate their drafts. Period. If they like a guy at a spot they will take him. This front office has made their money on being unconventional. Adding a Randy Starks at DT will not prevent them from taking a DT at 25 if it fits their agenda.

My only real concern with Hunt is that, at 26yo, he’s reached his physical prime. He’s probably really close to his ceiling. Keep in mind this is a fully mature man in his mid 20’s going up against kids that are 5,6,7 years younger than him.

So with this manti Ted situation how far does he fall he was always in the top five of mocks rob you didn’t include him in either round 1 or 2 do you think he will drop this far… I realize he might be crazy but he can still play football

I think the only way he falls out of the top 2 rounds is if it turns out that he was invloved, or made a deliberate attempt to deceive people. However, if that turns out to be the case… holy crap what a nut job! If guys can fall 3-5 rounds just for smoking weed, what will GM’s think of this mess?

So we all want impact at DT and DE.
Melton 26, Bryant 27, Starks 29, Kruger 26, and Umeyiora 31 are all going to be available.

If we take the youngest and biggest money risk and get Melton (Pro Bowler), and Kruger (9 sacks in 2012), does that put us over the top. Does this equal elite and a division win with home field advantage?

If we play to the future to save money so we can keep the Legion of Boom, then does Starks and Umenyiora get us there?? They would save cash, but we want to win Now! This year 2013!

Do we mix it up and get the more affordable Starks, yet spend for Bryant say?? or Melton/Umenyiora??

IMO the question is not the cash and future, it’s what brings home the Lombardi Trophy this year! Period

I know the draft will supply many benefits, (hopefully 2-3 powerful/dynamic offensive tools for RW) and they will also get depth at DT / DE… I favor the FA experienced DT / DE, and the rookie WR/TE move.

Im not convinced that Pete and JS want to sell out to a win now scenario. They are into the WinForever program and had a near SuperBowl contending team this year despite being in the potentially best position of any other team in the league cap and age wise.

If they invest too heavily in FA and dont maintain cap space to retain the legion of boom or the linebacker crew when their rookie contracts are up … then we would have to gut the identity of this team. Why not continue our current path?

Im just throwing this out there and Id like to get Melton as much as the next guy. Id like to see a Patriots like team built, not a small window to win and start over type team.

I really don’t considering going after Melton and a guy like Cook selling out. They are both under 27. Hawkblogger has a good article on JS FA strategy – this is how Rice/Miller got signed. These kind of signings free them up to go BPA in the draft…it would be silly to not invest some in FA.

I didn’t intend to say we ‘sell out’, but that we arm up for right now, this year. As such young group, do we not think the veteran Osi Umenyiora, who has 2 SB rings, couldn’t aid us in leadership and in knowing what it takes and is to win the SB? I in NO WAY want to totally sacrifice the future for now…not at all.

I was simply saying we have a 500K year franchise QB, a really young team, so why not add just 2, maybe 3 FA on D to fulfill that side, and go for the SB now! We where :31 seconds from being 4 quarters away.
That is why I so we can push hard Now!!

Trade for Tebow to be Russell Wilson’s backup??? This is ridiculous for a couple reasons.

1) Russell Wilson plays the Quarterback position. Tim Tebow is not a Quarterback.

2) Even if Tebow were a cabable backup QB, which again he is not; why on earth would you give up a 6th round pick for him? The Jets will likely just cut him so he can start the conversion to FB or H-Back elsewhere, or go try to keep his QB fantasies going in the CFL. I wouldn’t give up the very last pick in the 2016 draft for Tebow.

Trading for Tim Tebow to back up Russell Wilson would be like trading for Ryan Mallett to back up Earl Thomas. Just imagine Mallett and his 9 second 40 time lumbering around in the deep middle of the field trying to breakup passes… That is how bad Tebow is at doing quarterback things.

We should get more than a 3rd for Flynn in this years market. There are few options. Gus Bradley will be the first to call. Kansas City should also be interested. I doubt KC wants to waste the first pick on Geno Smith.

[…] related to Jenoris Jenkins. He ran a 11.14 100 metres in high school and also threw the discus. After yesterday’s touting of Margus Hunt as a possible draft pick, what chance the Seahawks draft two discus throwers in […]

I get you dont like Tebow but we do need somebody as a back up QB that is similar to RW. Tebow does not look pretty throwing the ball but he is a proven winner. Besides Tebow may never see the field accept in mop up duty. It also allows the trade of Flynn and free’s cash for DT Melton.

I have heard this on the radio, and nothing personal Stuart, but NO NO NO NO!!!
Jacksonville did the best thing this offseason. They said NO, Tebow won’t be here next year…
This is Great News!! GO AWAY TEBOW!!!! He Can NOT play QB! Period… He had one lucky/good run- done.
I want him out of the league! He may be a good fella, but I am SICK of hearing about him, a guy that CAN’t play the QB position! It is like a slow death that keeps the peeps from talking about players that actually can and ARE playing! Go to church Tebow- leave the NFL in peace. NO NO NO Tebow

I am so sick of this “proven winner” crap that always gets thrown out there by Tebow apologists. As a starter in the NFL Tim Tebow has an all-time record (including playoffs) of 9-7. And not to say that winning in college is completely meaningless, but here are a few other QB’s who have recently won national championships:

Ken Dorsey
Matt Leinart
Vince Young
Matt Flynn

Meanwhile Tebow is sporting a career completion percentage lower than that of JaMarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf. Oh, what’s that? completion percentage doesn’t tell the whole story for Timmy? How about the much more inclusive QBR, which is weighted with a “clutch index” to account for that 4th quarter “It Factor”? Over the span of that “Magical” 2011 run with the Broncos, Tebow accumulated a total QBR of 29.91 which is 6.63 points lower than Matt Cassel during his 2-14 run this season!

I’m sure your comment only intends to point out that Tebow is more moblie than our current backup QB, but PLEASE do not say that Tebow is “similar to Russel Wilson” ever again…

I think Rob is on the right track here. I seriously doubt we go WR/TE in the first round unless maybe Hopkins/Patterson/Ertz is too much to pass up on. Margus Hunt seems strange to me but who knows, maybe he could be a huge blessing. Btw, how many 6-8 D-linemen are pro bowl quality?

Ok, no Tebow but who can we get that is a veteran, can run the O when RW is out (IF) and comes at a low cost to us? I do like the luxury of Flynn but I would rather get a 3rd rounder and have FA like Melton. We dont have to get rid of Flynn until before the season 2014 when we really need to have the money for our big FA’s to be, but still…

Great articles thus far. It has been great getting other perspectives from readers also. With this draft and due to sudden injuries and some older players on the DL, I think we again will see 2 out of first 3 picks used on defense. I have the gut feeling we will be addressing the DT position first: Sylvester Williams, Richardson, Jenkins and Floyd as top picks then either Justin Hunter or DeAndre Hopkins. Our third pick will probably address LeRoy Hills position and possible replacements could be: Sean Porter, and Jelani Jenkins. I have viewed some of these names already on the site and thanks to Rob have been able to watch a few highlights as well.

Once again it is going to be great speculating what Seattle needs to do to take the next step, I look forward to Rob’s and other Seahawk fans insight.

Did I really read this right? No Te’o in the top 2 rounds. There is no way IN HELL he drops past the 20th pick, and that’s just because of his poor play in the Nat’l title game. His stock will pickup and this whole Girlfriend thing won’t do anything to his stock.

So I skipped right to the picks, happen to miss Te’o, went back to read and see if you metioned him in their. Only paragragh I happened to skip was the first. My bad, but still don’t see it happeneing. Besides that love the mock man. Better than most people. But chances we take Eifert?

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